Catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts

ABSTRACT

The pipe&#39;s inner surface is treated by electodeposited elements of a heterogeneous catalyst consisting of Platinum, Palladium and rhodium. There are air tubes that are fed by a low pressure high volume air blower, that is connected to an air regulator and to an air collector that diverts the air flow into two separate tubes that enter the burner pipe 180 degrees apart from each other, entering the burner pipe at a 45 degree angle ⅔ the distance from the mounting flange to the burner pipes end. The treated burner pipe is mounted to a burner by a flange or other means. When the burner is ignited and pipe reaches 1000° to 1200° F. the catalyst is activated and air is added until the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is reached, which is dependant on the fuel used and the content of unburned fuel in the burner.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/128,323, filed May 21, 2008, for CATALYTIC COMBUSTION CONVERTER AND CATALYSTS, by Wayne Owen, included by reference herein and for which benefit of the priority date is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to catalytic converters and catalysts for use with such systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to heterogeneous combustion catalysts for use in catalytic combustion converters.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hydrocarbons are currently the main source of the world's electric energy and heat sources (such as home heating) because of the energy produced when burnt. Often this energy is used directly as heat such as in home heaters, which use either oil or natural gas. The hydrocarbon is burnt and the heat is used to heat water, which is then circulated. A similar principle is used to create electric energy in power plants. All Hydrocarbon combustion reactions produce Carbon Dioxide and Water. Chemists would write the following to represent the combustion of methane:

CH4[g]+2O2[g]->CO2[g]+2H2O[l]+891 kJ

That is, one molecule of methane (the [g] referred to above means it is gaseous form) combined with two oxygen atoms, react to form a carbon dioxide molecule, two water molecules (the [l] above means that the water molecules are in liquid form, although it is usually evaporated during the reaction to give off steam) and 891 kilajoules (kJ) of energy. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel. Coal and oil, the other fossil fuels, are more chemically complicated than natural gas, and when combusted, they release a variety of potentially harmful chemicals into the air. Burning methane releases only carbon dioxide and water. Since natural gas is mostly methane, the combustion of natural gas releases fewer byproducts than other fossil fuels.

Hydrocarbons are of prime economic importance because they encompass the constituents of the major fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc.) and its derivatives plastics, paraffin, waxes, solvents and oils. In urban pollution, these components—along with NOx and sunlight—all contribute to the formation of tropospheric ozone and greenhouse gases. The combustion of petroleum based fuels produce byproducts due to the incomplete combustion VOC's, among them. These byproducts are emitted into the atmosphere and are a major cause of Global Warming. This invention takes these unburned VOC's from fossil fuels and uses them as a fuel to increase the BTU output of a natural gas burner by 25%. Not only does this invention remove a large majority of the compounds from being released into the atmosphere, but it also uses less fuel to archive the same BTU rating of the burner.

Document Type and Number: U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,784

Abstract:Pollutant removal from industrial exhaust gases such as combustion products generated by combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, such pollutant removal being characterized by refrigerating the products of combustion to remove most of the pollutants as a liquid phase. Pollutants thus removed include the water formed by the combustion process, together with those pollutants having a substantial solubility in the water in liquid phase. Precooling of the hot combustion products to about ambient temperature is highly desirable to reduce energy requirements in the refrigerating stage or stages. Single or plural stages of refrigeration and liquid phase separation are employed. Water soluble pollutants formed during the hydrocarbon fuel combustion process include formaldehyde and formic acid (which are also describable as water affinitive in the sense of forming azeotropic mixtures with the condensed water), and also hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, quinoline bases, and pyridine bases, for example. The pollutants removed by combining with the water condensed from the combustion products can be chemically or physically treated to neutralize and/or extract the pollutants from the water so that the resulting liquid can be discharged to the environment essentially pollutant-free. The water insoluble pollutants such as carbon monoxide which are not removed from the gaseous phase by refrigeration can be largely removed by passing the exhaust gases, after removal of the water and water soluble pollutants therefrom, through adsorber means or the like, such as a molecular sieve. By reason of the removal of the water and water soluble pollutants prior to passing of the gaseous phase through the adsorber means, the effective life of the adsorber means is increased by factor of at least 20 to 1.

This system only removes pollutants and is a long, expensive, and time consuming process. It does not increase the thermal efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided. a 12% nickel cast pipe of which the inner surface is specially treated by electodeposited elements of a heterogeneous catalyst consisting of Platinum, Palladium and rhodium. There are air tubes that are feed by a low pressure high volume air blower, that is connected to an air regulator and via a connecting pipe to an air collect that diverts the air flow into two separate tubes that enter the burner pipe 180 degrees apart from each other and entering the burner pipe at a 45 degree angle approximately ⅔ the distance from the mounting flange to the output end of the burner pipe.

The specially treated burner pipe is mounted to a burner by a flange or other means. When the burner is ignited the pipe begins to heat, once the pipe reaches 1000° to 1200° F., the catalyst is activated and air is added slowly until the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is obtained. The amount of air is dependant on the fuel used and the content of unburned fuels in the burner pipe. The burning of the hydrocarbons and voc's increase the BTU output.

Note: The components are sized according to the burner size, BTU rating and fuel used.

It would be advantageous to provide a. means to reduce the emissions from natural gas fuel.

It would also be advantageous to provide a. means to increase the thermal efficiency of a natural gas burner.

It would further be advantageous to provide a. 25% savings in natural gas consumption.

It would further be advantageous to provide a means to retro fit existing burner assemblies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a FIG. 1 shows the catalytic combustion converter.

For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Catalytic combustion converter comprises of burner pipe 1 mounting means 7 for mounting burner pipe 1 to a gas burner (not shown), air injection tubes 2 and 2 a, air tube collector 3, connecting pipe 4, air flow regulator 5, and blower assembly 6. Preferably mounting means 7 is a flange.

Air is injected into pipe 7 via air injection tubes 2 and 2 a, that enter the burner pipe 1, 180 degrees apart from each other entering on a 45° angle, ⅔ the distance from the mounting flange to the burner pipe 1 end. Tubes 2 and 2 a are combined together by air tube collector 3. Air tube collector 3 is attached to blower assembly 6 via connecting pipe 4. Blower assembly 6 supplies air that is regulated by air flow regulator 5 and fed to burner pipe 1 via collector 3.

Burner pipe 1 is specially anodized with a heterogeneous catalyst, preferably by electrodepositing the catalyst on the interior surface of burner pipe 1. The heterogeneous catalyst having a heavy metal constituency comprising platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Preferably, the heterogeneous catalyst comprises the following relative concentrations of platinum, palladium and rhodium: 87-98% platinum, 3-6% palladium, and 0.7-2.3% rhodium and most preferably about 92.5% platinum, about 6.0% palladium, and about 1.5% rhodium.

To prepare the heterogeneous catalyst, as set forth in Table 1, I start with a naturally occurring Head Ore comprising for example 37.6 troy/Oz. per ton of gold, 6.676 troy/Oz. per ton of platinum, 0.796 troy/Oz. per ton palladium, and 0.022 troy/Oz. rhodium. I utilize a flotation procedure to concentrate the Head Ore using a procedure having the following parameters: 500 g of 200 mesh Head Ore, test run at a natural pH (7.8) ore @ 30% density. Reagents used: American Cyanamid products 350, 25, 31, 404, 3477, and 65. I produced a 24.63:1 ratio of concentration (20.3 g from 500 g Head Ore). The resulting Float Concentrate comprised 478.8810 troy/Oz. per ton of gold; 102.56 troy/Oz. per ton platinum; 6.551 troy/Oz. per ton palladium; and 1.712 troy/Oz. per ton Rhodium. I next filtered the Float Concentrate to extract the gold thereby producing the heterogeneous catalyst, comprising relative amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium: about 92.5% platinum, about 6.0% palladium; and 1.5% rhodium.

In operation, the heat from the burner (not shown) heats burner pipe 1 to approxamently 1000° TO 1200° F. starts an exothermic process that ignites unburned gasses from the incomplete combustion of gases by the burner. Air is added to the burner pipe 1 via air tubes 2 and 2 a to obtain and maintain optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio by the air regulator 5 to achieve maximum BTU gain.

The process of the this invention burns volatile organic compounds (“VOC's”) thereby using twenty-five percent less fuel to obtain the same BTU output and producing fewer emissions than prior art catalytic combustion converter systems.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims. 

1. A catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts for reducing volatile organic compounds through an exothermic reaction thus increasing the btu output by 25%, comprising: means for catalyzing and burning voc's; means for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said means for catalyzing and burning voc's; means for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said means for catalyzing and burning voc's; means for directing the air from one feed pipe in to two injection tubes, rigidly connected to said means for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, and rigidly connected to said means for adding additional air in to the burner pipe; means for connecting the air tube collector to the air flow regulator, rigidly connected to said means for directing the air from one feed pipe in to two injection tubes; means for adjusting the air flow to the air injection tubes to achieve the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, rigidly connected to said means for connecting the air tube collector to the air flow regulator; means for adding high volume low pressure air to the burner pipe via the air injection tubes, rigidly connected to said means for adjusting the air flow to the air injection tubes to achieve the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio; and means for attaching the burner pipe to the burner assembly (not shown), other means of attachment may be necessary dependant on burner style, size and type, rigidly connected to said means for catalyzing and burning voc's.
 2. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for catalyzing and burning voc's comprises a burner pipe.
 3. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for adding additional air in to the burner pipe comprises an air injection tubes.
 4. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for directing the air from one feed pipe in to two injection tubes comprises an air collector tube.
 5. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for connecting the air tube collector to the air flow regulator comprises a connecting pipe.
 6. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for adjusting the air flow to the air injection tubes to achieve the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio comprises an air flow regulator.
 7. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for adding high volume low pressure air to the burner pipe via the air injection tubes comprises an air blower assembly.
 8. The catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for attaching the burner pipe to the burner assembly (not shown), other means of attachment may be necessary dependant on burner style, size and type comprises a burner mounting flange.
 9. A catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts for reducing volatile organic compounds through an exothermic reaction thus increasing the btu output by 25%, comprising: a burner pipe, for catalyzing and burning voc's; an air injection tubes, for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said burner pipe; an air injection tube, for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said burner pipe; an air collector tube, for directing the air from one feed pipe in to two injection tubes, rigidly connected to said air injection tube, and rigidly connected to said air injection tubes; a connecting pipe, for connecting the air tube collector to the air flow regulator, rigidly connected to said air collector tube; an air flow regulator, for adjusting the air flow to the air injection tubes to achieve the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, rigidly connected to said connecting pipe; an air blower assembly, for adding high volume low pressure air to the burner pipe via the air injection tubes, rigidly connected to said air flow regulator; and a burner mounting flange, for attaching the burner pipe to the burner assembly (not shown), other means of attachment may be necessary dependant on burner style, size and type, rigidly connected to said burner pipe.
 10. A catalytic combustion converter systems and catalysts for reducing volatile organic compounds through an exothermic reaction thus increasing the btu output by 25%, comprising: a burner pipe, for catalyzing and burning voc's; an air injection tubes, for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said burner pipe; an air injection tube, for adding additional air in to the burner pipe, rigidly connected to said burner pipe; an air collector tube, for directing the air from one feed pipe in to two injection tubes, rigidly connected to said air injection tube, and rigidly connected to said air injection tubes; a connecting pipe, for connecting the air tube collector to the air flow regulator, rigidly connected to said air collector tube; an air flow regulator, for adjusting the air flow to the air injection tubes to achieve the optimum stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, rigidly connected to said connecting pipe; an air blower assembly, for adding high volume low pressure air to the burner pipe via the air injection tubes, rigidly connected to said air flow regulator; and a burner mounting flange, for attaching the burner pipe to the burner assembly (not shown), other means of attachment may be necessary dependant on burner style, size and type, rigidly connected to said burner pipe. 